THE EFFECTS OF SIGNED TEXT ON THE READING COMPREHENSION OF HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDREN

Research in reading suggests that comprehension is the result of the reconstruction of meaning on the basis of past linguistic experience. Implicit in the reconstructivist theory of reading comprehension is the notion that semantic familiarity facilitates textual understanding. For deaf students who use Sign Language, spatial-gestural information may be an integral dimension of the semantic network. The purpose of this study was to investigate deaf students\u27 comprehension of paragraphs with and without accompanying Sign Language pictures above English words. The major research hypothesis predicted the addition of semantically familiar picture signs would increase deaf readers\u27 comprehension. The minor research hypothesis predicted that the additon of semantically familiar picture signs in Cloze format (every fifth sign deleted) would increase deaf readers\u27 comprehension. Subjects were 49 elemenary and 32 secondary students at the Iowa School for the Deaf who were enrolled in a full-time residential program in which Total Communications was used. All subjects were classified as having severe to profound hearing loss and all had only one (auditory) handicap. An adapted version of the Silvaroli Classroom Reading Inventory was prepared for the experiment. The adaptation resulted in three forms per grade reading level--a total of 54 for grades one through six. One edition of each of the forms appeared in standard English print. The second edition was Signed, with a pictorial representation of the American Sign Language equivalent above each word. The third edition appeared in Cloze format with every fifth sign deleted. Results of the t-tests revealed alpha levels below the .05 level of significance established for the study. Statistical evidence existed for rejection of the Null for the major and minor research hypotheses. Comparison of means for standard English and Signed editions produced alpha levels of .0001 for the elementary and secondary students. Cloze Sign format also produced gains over the standard English presentation, p = .0001 for the elementary and p = .0001 for the secondary students. For the 32 secondary students, there was a difference (p \u3c .05) between the Signed and Cloze Sign presentations indicating that although Signed and Cloze Sign were both more effective than the standard English, statistical evidence did not indicate equal effectiveness for both editions. The results of the study support a language difference viewpoint. This notion should be considered in teaching reading to the deaf